Quote Originally Posted by Fierro View Post
I realize "blitzing" is usually looked at negatively around these parts but I've found it much easier to take a settlement or two right away with your starting army. You will be in the green without having to disband anything (I disbanded my ship though)
The battles will be a piece of cake. The enemy will sally forth thinking they will crush your army but a well placed battle line and well timed chariot charge by your FMs will change all that and the settlements will be yours with minimal casualties.
But then again I'd rather play on the offensive than the defensive which seems to be the exception around here. To each their own style I guess.
Yea I tend to agree with him. Going out and besieging a town (my recommendation would be the one with the Isle of Darkness since you get the very nice school in it while you wait for more governerships to open up) leaves your first major battle at a significant advantage over waiting on the enemy and then sallying forth. To start, a victory means that you gain a settlement instead of simply failing to lose your (only) settlement. Secondly, you will have a few turns of besiegment before they attack, meaning that they will have lost a few soldiers to starvation. Thirdly, you will be on defense rather than offense *and* they will typically bring units out to attack in small numbers, for whatever reason, allowing you to destroy them piecemeal rather than having to charge out into a full force. Lastly, you will have saved yourself probably something like 10 turns of sitting behind your walls waiting for the Eleutheroi to grow weary of your existence.

If you suffer excessive casualties in the capture of the first city (I didn't) you can always take your "break time" there instead of at your capital, giving you double the income and a buffer in case a major Eleutheroi incursion occurs. If you don't, simply continue capturing cities until you do run out of people and then take a construction break. This leaves you at a significant advantage when you finish the construction phase and begin full-scale expansion.